Friedrich takes blast at 'loud' vuvuzelas

They are made of plastic, are a metre long, as loud as a chain-saw and promise to be a noisy feature of the World Cup, but for Germany defender Arne Friedrich they are just 'loud'.

The vuvuzela takes considerable effort to blow, sounds something like a fog-horn and when used by large crowds at a football stadium creates an incredibly loud noise.

The World Cup starts on Friday when hosts South Africa take on Mexico at Johannesburg's Soccer City and many of the 90,000-strong crowd are expected to come with a vuvuzela in their team's colours.

Some players have lobbied for the vuvuzela to be outlawed and critics have called on FIFA to ban them during matches, saying the sound drowns out voices rendering communication impossible for the teams.

For the players, communication will be virtually impossible, but Hertha Berlin captain Friedrich said they are a factor of the tournament to which players must quickly adapt to.

"Every nation has its own way to celebrate the game, while I am not a fan - I must admit they are bloody loud - you have to respect them and the longer we are here, the more we will get used to them," said the centre-back at Germany's World Cup camp.

The Germans open their World Cup campaign against Australia in Durban on Sunday and team doctor Tim Meyer said he has advised his players to adapt to the extra noise as quickly as possible on the pitch.

"You have to adapt to it mentally, there will be plenty of noise involved in games, not just from the vuvuzelas," he said.